Beauty pageants are degrading to women.?

Question

I'm to write an essay on this topic, and I hope to recieve honest opinions from all! Please give your most sincere answers! Thanks alot (:

Answer 1

Generally not

Answer 2

I think you should controvert that notion to be honest. Statistically more girls and women watch beauty pageants then men. I know the men in my family would never dream of sitting and watching Ms Paraguay win Miss universe...So you should argue aginst that point. Alot of these women have college degrees and erudite individuals

Answer 3

They are extremely degrading.  Always have been.  It's amazing that they are still going on.  I thought they would have gone belly up by 1972.

It's the prize money, however.  Along with the fact that some women still like to be graded on how they look, no matter which century it is.  Sad, but true.

Answer 4

Yes.  They reinforce a gender stereotype that woman have little value outside of attracting men.  Sure they have a talent contest and/or a speech, but the real action comes with the swimsuits.  Can you think of any contest of value that is solved with near nudity?

At their heart most pageants call themselves scholarship programs.  Somehow, the prospect of humbling oneself in front of a crowd is more palatable when the payoff is a prize tied to college enrollment.  But, where is the college that requires semi-nude photographs before it will consider you for admission?

Answer 5

Nope.

Answer 6

I just had to laugh out loud at Echo's parody on the 'political correct' garbage for which contestants come out with!

"....and what would you like to see happen in our world?"  -"world peace"

"... and what do you do in your spare time?" - "world peace"

"... and if you could achieve one thing in your lifetime, what would it be?" - "world peace"

But yes, these so-called "beauty" contests are degrading to women. And degrading to the people who frequent them.

Answer 7

well they can be good for scholarships and also i dunno i just like them because people already have idols that are beautiful, as in celebrities, but sometimes in a beauty pageant they have something more than just their beauty that they are doing it for, as in some kind of cause they want to change

Answer 8

I think they offer a great opportunity to women ... But i find them vary degrading...The questions they ask  are not even remotely hard to answer with a great preordained answer.... the "fitness" portion honestly is simply who has the best body to display...... "the talent i will give some credit to this is a real section that has some Merritt".... And to win you have to be beautiful *on the outside not inside* and this i find the most repugnant*... but ironically enough i figure this much if women and men are willing to shell out money to women for being pretty  and you are well ascetically pleasing where is the shame in taking the money ... I mean people get up on their high horses about Beauty pageants but where is the shame in taking every opportunity that is given to you ... Just because your friend isn't smart enough to get into Harvard doesn't stop you from going ... so just because other women aren't pretty enough to win a beauty pageant why should that stop you... i mean you are born with both Academic ability *NOT INTELLIGENCE they are different* and beauty ... so i say once again where is the shame?

Answer 9

I don't find them degrading at all. But I suppose people who have low...er self esteem than I do could find it offensive. Plus those other retarted people who just hate  anyone whoes prettier then they are.

Answer 10

It really depends on the opinions of the women involved. You'd have to ask THEM.

Andrea Dworkin, Gloria Steinem and their ilk will say yes, but that just goes along with their socialistic worldview and is one of their main propaganda points.

OTOH, the producers, TV execs and like that will say no, because the pageants make them LOTS of money, and they'll tell you anything they think you want to hear if it will make them MORE money.

Ask the participants. No one else's answer really matters.

I'll bet you 100 bucks your teacher is a woman, and a feminazi. Please show her this answer.

Answer 11

Aside from being degrading to us as a conscious species (placing value in looks), I think the way it's presented is basically a distraction of what it really is.  Where as before, our society was more blatant about the devaluing people based on their appearance, I guess it's considered more accepted to try to promote their other qualities by listing their achievments and asking them "intelligent" questions.  Realistically, who are they trying to fool?  

It basically comes down to a contest of looks and the value of that person who the better looks.  Now we do it with pretty much every aspect of media i.e. advertisements, movies, television, so now it doesn't seem so bad...we're sort of numb to it.  I guess in comparison to the way we portray our desire for beauty and how we value people because of it, it's really not that bad.

Answer 12

Not really.  They can be a nice way to gather scholarship money.

Answer 13

I think they are in the sense they are mostly based on looks.  Someone may not be drop dead gorgeous or a twig, but they may be hugely successful and are changing the world.

Answer 14

get a hint they are called beauty pageants of course its going to be judged on physical appearance some women might find them degrading and others might not

Answer 15

why should women prance around in bikinis only to be judged solely on looks by a bunch of fat balding middleaged men?

and yes, solely on looks i mean seriously

"....and what would you like to see happen in our world?"

"...world peace"

"...and what do you do in your spare time?"

"world peace"

"... and if you could achieve one thing in your lifetime, what would it be?"

"world peace"

geeeezzz!!

Answer 16

I think if the woman is at least 18 and they've made their own choice to be in the pageants, no it's not degrading...they are basically popularity contests used to promote awareness of different social issues.

Answer 17

no.  the women do it at their own will, some even dream of becoming beuty pageant queens, like all the miss americas.  it definately helps with scholarships, or if they want to go into modeling it would definately kick start that career.

Answer 18

Compare it to barbie.  glamourising figures that are not realistic for all girls/women to have.